The Women of Gotham
by Angelic Temptress
Summary: Drabbles dealing with my favorite ladies.
1. Bathwater

She stared at the hot water surrounding her naked and bruised form. White and black paint and red blood tainted it, making it cloudy. The bathwater now encompassed everything she had been, everything that had ever meant anything to her.

Well, almost everything.

"How are you feeling, Harl?"

Ivy sat down on the edge of the tub and wiped Harley's mascara from beneath her eyes with a damp washcloth. She brushed the blonde, greasy bangs from her forehead and gently kissed it.

"I've missed you, you know."

"You're glad he's dead, so stop pretending that you care how I feel."


	2. Being Young

_"No Bruce. You and I are just good friends."_

She remembered saying those words. He was searching for Wonder Woman and had asked for her help.

Batman never asked for help. _Rarely asked._

After setting her top hat on a dresser, she sat down.

_Friends? You can't really be friends with your first sweetheart…_

She began removing her makeup and recalled when _John Smith_ trained with her father. A part of her missed those days. Everything was so simple. She missed when he'd fake a smile and when he'd hold her in his arms.

Then again, she missed being young.


	3. Bullet Hole

Barbara threw her mask onto her floor and put on pajamas.

She wasn't going to pretend that everything was okay in her life. She wouldn't let herself be his mistress any longer. She had a full life ahead of her.

Barbara was leaving a painful life behind her.

Sure, she made mistakes.

Sure, her heart and the hearts of her lovers had been broken.

It was a price they chose to pay.

Barbara wanted to be someone, maybe a commissioner.

A knock sounded at the door, and she opened it.

The Joker waited on the other side, holding a gun.


	4. Changes

With thighs outside his hips, she held him down though she knew he could resist if he wanted. Her blonde hair cascaded over her face as their mouths danced together.

She smoothed a few damp strands of blonde hair from his forehead as her mouth started exploring.

"I need to go," he told.

"You don't."

"I do."

Dinah stopped nibbling on his ear and crawled off of him.

Ollie stopped by, slept with her, and left again. He had been doing that often. His work was more important. Claimed he needed to help "the little guy."

He acted like Batman.


	5. Diamonds and Spades

Harley lifts her head from the pillow and tries to ignore the red stain she leaves behind. Her head hurts. She stands, wearing only a sheer tank with white panties, and stumbles to the broken mirror on the opposite side of their room.

Her left eye is swollen shut. Her lip is twice its size. Her blonde hair is a mess. Her cheek is bruised.

She can see the trails his fingers left in her smudged, white makeup.

She can see the trails her tears have left too.

Within twenty minutes, Harley reapplies her makeup and her familiar, fake smile.


	6. Dream

_"Dream when you're feeling blue…"_

Harley's bottom lip quivered. It was so cold outside, and she was wearing nothing but a sheer nightie. Penguin's nightclub was playing some old music she'd never heard before.

She and Mister J had gotten themselves into another argument while they shacked up in a room above the lounge. She waited the entire afternoon for him to come home and see her looking so pretty in her skimpy outfit…

But he wasn't happy.

It was her fault. She shouldn't have pestered him so much. She knew he needed his space.

"There'll be no dreamin' tonight."


	7. Heartbroken

_"I really thought you loved me."_

Ollie shook his head. "You know how I feel. I've told you so many times."

"Then why are you acting this way? Why are you an asshole? Why do you act as if I am expendable?"

It was Superman who told Ollie not to go. It was Batman who told her about the explosion.

And before it all happened, it was Ollie who not only stole her heart so many years ago but also broke her heart so many times since they'd met.

Today was another one of those days.

Dinah Lance was heartbroken.


	8. Hearts and Aces

The woman gently strokes her best friend's face, trying to comfort her. She hates seeing her like this. Joker's tattered toy is sobbing into Ivy's lap, shaking.

"Harley," she whispers. "You're okay now. I won't let anything happen to you."

Quinn sits up and wipes her eyes with the back of her glove. "But Mistah J loves me, Red."

Ivy shakes her head, tears stinging her own eyes. "No. No he doesn't, Harl." Poison Ivy pulls her close and smoothes her scruffy hair. "No one understands or loves us."

"Two peas in a pod?"

"Peas in a pod. You're right."


	9. It's Not Easy being Green

"I can't talk now, Red. Me and Mistah J are goin'."

"Bye," Ivy said to the dial tone and put down the receiver. "Damn it."

She wished one of the bat bastards would kill the damn Joker so Harley could be free of his torture and her pain.

Ivy loathed that maniac.

After she lifted a briefcase from the floor, she looked inside. "A million dollars," she muttered. "Who's it for?" How could she tear Harley away from her addictive poison if she didn't want to leave?

The door of her greenhouse busted open.

Batman and Batgirl walked right in.


	10. Knowing

A/N: Reaction to Nancy Brown's BM/BG fic.

VvV

He wraps his robe around himself and stands on his balcony. Sunlight begins to break through Gotham's dirty sky.

Taking a small glance at the young redhead in his bed, he tries to think of a reason for pulling her into his dark world. Perhaps he needs someone young and new in this life.

He loves her, but not in the way she needs. His selfishness will only drive a wedge between his oldest protégé, his latest lover, and himself.

Does she know he is pretending she is someone else?

Barbara mutters in her sleep. Bruce needs to shower.


	11. Legacy

When she learned Lex Luthor was not running for President, she was infuriated. She was supposed to take his place as CEO of Lexcorp and have hundreds of resources at her disposal.

She could have associated with her beloved on another level. He would respect her as a business woman rather than an assassin.

Lexcorp could have been destroyed from the inside after she was finished with what her father wanted.

Sometimes she felt he was a burden but loved him nonetheless.

He had given her life, shared his secret, and chosen Talia a husband who would never want her.


	12. Love's a Bitch

Some nights were better than others.

Tonight was not a better night.

Barbara found herself staring at the phone.

She needed to pick it up and dial the damn number.

She needed to explain why these things happened.

He labeled her a "whore."

Tears still stung her eyes.

How could he say that?

Batgirl was the first he wanted.

Because he loved her, he hated her. She ripped his heart in two.

Her throat ached. Her eyes burned.

But she knew she'd eventually go back to the manor.

To his large bed.

And Dick wouldn't get his much deserved explanation.


	13. Red Lipstick

Barbara sat up and watched Bruce step out of his bathroom. The moonlight revealed his newest wounds as he crawled into the large bed. She counted four scratches on his cheek alone.

He probably didn't know she could smell _her_ perfume, but the aroma was potent. Not detecting it would be impossible.

_That_ woman always smelled like crushed roses.

Bruce didn't realize he regularly wore a shade of lipstick when he returned from patrols. Barbara tasted it on his mouth every time he kissed her.

She tasted it now.

Its color and flavor never changed.

It was always red.

_Always._


	14. Repercussions

"Listen. I think we should talk."

"It meant nothing. You were lonely. And I was alone."

Nightwing gently touched her arm. "I'm not that kind of guy. I don't just –"

"You were hurt. I could tell. You needed comfort, and I got some too. We can leave it at that." She pulled away from him and faked a smile. "Please. I'm a big girl."

"Maybe we could have dinner?"

Her forehead wrinkled.

"I'm serious. I know an Italian place down on fiftieth and…" His sentence trailed. "Unless you felt nothing."

Huntress frowned. "You're not like other guys, are you?"


	15. Roses

"You think he'll come for me, Red?"

"He's never come before." Ivy wiped her forehead with the back of her sleeve and continued planting her roses.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"What makes you think this time will be different?"

"Dunno. I have a feeling."

"He's a bastard who uses you."

"But I love him, Red."

Ivy glared at her best friend. "You know, I'm so sick of hearing this over and over again. We don't need men in our lives, especially not that maniac."

"But Mistah J –"

"_Mistah J_ hurts you, and I don't want anyone hurting you, Harl."


	16. Silk

She pulled her Japanese silk robe on and stepped into her living room.

The wind blew and moved the curtains. The doors were open.

She knew he was there, waiting in the shadows, and she smiled.

As she approached him, she noted the shape was smaller than his. Before she could mutter a word, he gripped her shoulders and pushed her against the wall.

The moonlight caught his blue eyes, and she could see they were red with cried tears.

"I thought he wanted you," Nightwing said with a scratchy voice and a sob. "Why does he want her too?"


	17. To Blame

For a school teacher, Helena was a bit temperamental and impatient. She wondered if Vic had the same thoughts when he watched her fight the other night.

He snuck a quick glance, and she still didn't know how she noticed. Maybe she wanted to see him glance her way.

Maybe she just knew.

Q rarely came to Gotham because of all the testosterone and estrogen that's been thrown about. The Bat-clan was very territorial, like a schoolyard gang. She didn't particularly like working with them or Canary.

Anyone could argue that it was her fault. Huntress blamed Batman and Batgirl.


	18. To Need

He had kissed _her_ in the alley earlier.

Now he helped her out of the Batmobile. She followed him as he led the way inside.

When they arrived at the stone stairs, he turned to face her. She noticed the emotion in his eyes and knew something was wrong.

She took a step closer. "Why did you bring me here?"

"You need… I need you to know."

"Know?"

"Who I am." He slowly removed his cowl to reveal his familiar face.

He then whispered her name.

She smiled and didn't leave him.

Selina wouldn't leave Bruce for a long time.


	19. War Paint

She looks in the mirror and doesn't really recognize her face. She isn't comfortable this naked anymore, hasn't been in a long while.

She likes the volume her dirty hair has today. Delicate fingers tease her short strands, pushing them up at the root. It freezes with hairspray. She readjusts her small breasts.  
Perky. Happy.

A jester.

She wets her fingertips with her pink tongue and dips in the white to reapply her face. She covers her mask with the makeup, revealing herself. Black liner and lipstick bring the mannequin to life. This face and diamonds give her a name.


	20. Women of Gotham

"I'm not as messed up as the rest of the women of Gotham. Maybe it's because my father and I went on tour, so we were never home."

"And then you moved to New York."

"How else would a magician make money, Eric? My dad had a daughter to feed."

"Right."

"Take Batgirl. She was with Nightwing and later slept with Batman."

"Zee –"

"I was young, and he was too. Enough said… Canary is chasing Arrow across the country. Huntress is simply a lunatic, and her relationship with Question is just kind of strange."

"Honestly, _all_ women are crazy."


End file.
